Posted by: AiPolitics in In The News, World NewsJuly 20, 2012Comments Off on Shooting Rampage Inside Colorado Movie Theater During Screening of Dark Knight Rises

From MSNBC.com

At least 20 people were hurt early Friday following a shooting at a movie theater near Denver, police said.

The incident occurred in Aurora, Colo., during a midnight showing of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises,” a police official told NBC News.

Brenda Stuart, of 850 KOA radio, told Britain’s Sky News that “a lot of people thought the gunshots were part of the movie.”

“They heard what they thought were firecrackers,” she added, citing witnesses. “Then they saw the bullets flying.”

Eyewitness reports said the assailant may have been wearing a gas mask, Stuart said.

Tear gas went off in the Century 16 Movie Theaters at the Aurora Town Center following the gunfire, Stuart said. She added that bullets had passed from one theater into an adjoining one.

IBtimes.co.uk adds:

Twelve cinema-goers are reported to have been killed and 20 hurt at a cinema in the Colorado city of Aurora during a midnight showing of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Local media also report that two gunmen, believed to have been wearing gas masks, went on the rampage. Further reports confirmed that a blast went off at the Century 16 cinema in Aurora, leaving several injured.

In summary, 12 people are believed to be dead, and at least 20 are believed to be injured. A smoke bomb or tear gas may have been set off. Details are still coming in.

***UPDATE

According to HLN:

HLN affiliate KUSA reports there has been a mass shooting at the Century 16 movie theater at Town Center in Aurora, Colorado — about 9 miles from Denver.